Household Waste Management Strategy 2017-2027

Wiltshire Council's vision for its Household Waste Management Strategy 2017-2027 is working towards zero avoidable household waste in Wiltshire.

Section 1, the introduction to the strategy, explains that the strategy is an aspirational strategy and that the vision cannot be achieved by the council working alone. The focus is to achieve the goal, set out in the council's Business Plan 2017-27 Forward thinking, to achieve high recycling rates and avoid litter.

Section 2 sets the scene by reference to the legislative and policy framework for the management of waste, reinforcing that we continue to endeavour to manage all waste in accordance with the principles of the waste hierarchy and identify measures for continuous improvement. It refers to the publication of the Resource and Waste Strategy for England, describes the government consultations which followed and the publication of the Environment Bill on 15 October 2019. The section ends with reference to the local, financial, social and environmental drivers that provide context for the development of the strategy.

Section 3 reiterates the vision of working towards zero avoidable household waste in Wiltshire, stating that we will work together to manage household waste in accordance with the waste hierarchy. It sets out the priorities to enable the council to achieve this vision. Our first priority should be to prevent waste from being generated. Where we cannot prevent, we should repair and reuse, where reuse is not possible we should recycle and compost more. Any waste that cannot be reused, recycled or composted should be treated to recover any potential value, such as energy.

Our final priority relates to litter and fly tipping which are two of the most visible forms of avoidable waste. In its Business Plan the council recognises that to continue sustainable growth in our communities we need clean, safe and attractive environments and this strategy will contribute to maintaining these.

Section 4 refers to goals and outcomes, explaining that an annual action plan will be developed setting out goals and outcomes for the council to work towards in order to deliver the priorities within the overarching strategy. There will also be an annual performance report which will enable the council to review what has been achieved against the priorities based on completion of the targets set out in the action plan for the previous year.

For a full copy please email wasteandrecycling@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window) to request this.